O God, mine inmoft foul convert, "Give me to feel their folemn weight, S LETTER OF THE LATE REV. MR. DOLMAN, Vicar of Chalk, and rector of St. James's Isle of Grains, Kent, and Vicar of Little Brickell, Bucks, to his curate, the Rev. Mr. D, whe was just ordained to one of his curacies. Rev. SIR, AS Providence has placed you in fo near a connexion with me, and in fo facred an employ, I offer no other apology for thus addreffing you. I do not mean to write to you as one of my family, much lefs as my fervant; but as a fellow-labourer in the fame important work with myfelf. I ftand anfwerable to God, Sir, for employing you ; you are accountable to God, to me, and to your own con fcience, in the discharge of that work in which God and I have employed you. The fouls amongst whom you labour, are God's property, and my charge. They are the purchafe of Chrift's blood, and are his jewels. I have my temporals of them, and I must fee that they have fpiritual things of me, and of thofe whom I depute to inftruct them in my ftead. This, Sir, is enough to convince, you, that I have I hope to be excused for troubling the reader with an explanation of the word fate, extracted from the Lock Chapel Collection of Hymns, which many may not have seen; it follows the Hymn from which this verse is selected. "I am glad of an opportunity to rescue this significant word out of the hands of infidels, who use it, together with luck, fortune, chance, deftiny, to promote their favourite scheme of excluding the particular providence of the Wise Disposer of all events from government of the affairs of men: the VOL. II. M a right to know what fort of fpiritual food you intend to fet before them from time to time. I have many years ago adopted the following Scripture for my motto:" I preach "not my felf, but Chrift Jefus the Lord; and myself your "fervant, for Chrift's fake."-May it be practically yours! To preach our felves, Sir, is, I think, for a preacher to run before he is fent. There are fuch in our days. But, the question is, Who they are who may be properly faid to be fent? Some fay, thofe only who have gone through a regular course of univerfity education, and are episcopally ordained. Others, that they are fuch as have been ap proved and authorized by the Prefbytery: while yet others fay, they are men chofen out of a particular church, and by them fent forth to preach; or called to the pastoral office over themfelves. Now this may be true, in a fenfe, respecting all the three modes juft mentioned, and yet none of them be called of God; or, to use the anfwer which you made to the Bithop laft Sunday morning, none of them may be inwardly moved by the Holy Ghoft to take this office upon them. May your life and doctrine, and your fuccefs in the work, prove, that you spoke the truth, and did not lie, when you answered that question! Alas, Sir, they are not all called of God who wear the habit. Can you fuppofe, Sir, that a gentleman who de lights in a fine garden, wherein are a vaft number of the choiceft flowers, which he has collected at a great expence, and arranged with much care, can we fuppose he would employ a man who had no judgment to manage it? or one who is idle, wafting his time in gaming, fporting, and drinking? Can we fuppofe, that a farmer will purchase "But the word fate [fatum] signifies, what is fpoken; from the Latin word fari, to speak. Fate then eminently relates to what hath been spoken by the Most High God. So Minutius Felix, that able lawyer and great scholar, in St. Cyprian's time, says, Nihil aliud eft fatem, quam quod de unoquoque noftrum Deus fatus eft;"Fate is nothing else than what God hath spoken concerning every one of us." Even the Heathens had this idea of it; for, says Statius, Fatum eft quod Dii fantur;"Fate is that which the gods speak." In this truly Christian and excellent hymn, the word fate may be supposed to relate to the awful word which God spake, when he declared to fallen man, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Gen. iii. 19.) In this view, the word Fate may properly signify Death; and diseases may be said to appear more or less fatal, as they seem more or less likely to fulfil God's word, by bringing us to the dust. a flock of sheep, and give them up to the management of a perfon, whom he knows to have neither skill nor concern for feeding and taking care of them? How then can we fuppofe that God, who has purchased fouls with the blood of Jefus Chrift, who wants them to be fed and led into the way of eternal life, will put them under the care of a man ignorant of the worth of fuch fouls! A man ignorant of his own ftate, a drunkard, a pleasure-taker, a hater of God and holinefs! Alas, Sir, there are fuch minifters in this kingdom, who have been called and fet apart for fanctuary-fervice in each of the above denomi nations. To preach ourselves, is alfo to preach fo as to difplay to the people our own learning. O what pride is here! Chrift has nothing to do in fuch fermons; thofe who do so, are generally the most destitute of literature, and know nothing of God's teaching. To preach ourselves, may be to preach up our own opinions, expofing every one to the feverest cenfures who efpoufes the fentiments we reject. But there is yet another fenfe in which a man may be faid to preach himfelf; which, I think, is feldom taken notice of: I mean, a preacher holding up his own experience as the ftandard, up to which all muit come, and from which none must deviate. That all true religion is experimental I readily allow, but that all experience is ftrictly fcriptural, or Gofpelexperience, I as readily deny. God deals variously with us, according to infinite wisdom. There are many who, inftead of their bringing their experience to the Gospel, are reducing the Gofpel to their experience; and it is owing to this, that fo many things are faid concerning the believing foul, and its way to glory, which are unfcriptural, and tend to diftrefs poor oppreffed Chriftians. This is too much the method of even fome popular preachers, who make the way to Heaven dark and difmal; a road of pain and diftrefs, of doubts and fears! O, Sir, beware of this! If you find any poor sheep entangled amongst the brambles of mount Sinai, difentangle them; loofe them, and let them go; but do not bring them back again there: do not bring any of the lambs of your flock there. Point diftreffed fouls to Jefus, who is able, and willing, and ready to deliver them. Many poor young converts may you rob of comfort, by telling them they muft travel through the dreary wilderness of temptation, muft pafs the Red Sea of perfecution; that with heads bowed down, like the bulrufh, they muft walk in darkness, and fee no light; must have the lion, the bear, and the wolf, let loofe upon them. But is this to reprefent Wif dom's ways as ways of pleasantnefs, and her paths as paths of peace! It is certain the Christian muft take up his cross daily, and follow Chrift: that finful felf mufl be denied: the right eye muft be plucked out, and the right hand cut off: that he must forfake all, and follow Chrift wherefoever he in providence leads him: but it is equally certain, that he who calls him to this, and who leads him, will also give him ftrength for the day of exercife; yea, will strengthen him with all ftrength in the inner man. My dear Sir, learn to divide the word of God aright, and give to every man his portion in due feafon. We preach ourfelves, and not Christ our Master, when we venture into the pulpit, trufting to our own preparations, ingenioufly put together, and depending upon our method and our memory for correctness; or upon our pathos and energy to command the attention and the paffions of the congregation, together with a little admiration from the crowd. Whenever you find fuch difpofitions as thefe (God forbid you should ever try the practice) then you are tempted to preach your own dearly beloved felf and not Chrift Jefus the Lord. But to exalt Jefus, we must learn to find out the fin ner, and (if you will allow me the phrase) ferret him out of all his hiding-places; lay fiege to all his forts; force him out to the combat in the open field. If Satan thews him all the glories of the world, do you fhew him all the vanity, emptinefs, and deceitfulness of it; and while with your tongue you are labouring to convince his understanding, pray in faith that the Spirit of God may convert his foul. Set before him light and darkness, life and death, heaven and hell. -Strive to make your audience follow you in all your de scriptions, and labour to affect their hearts. I would advife you, Sir, to preach a lecture, with a clofe application to yourfelf frequently. Preach your next intended fermon to yourself in your fludy, in the prefence of God, before you deliver it to your congregation: and then, while feeding others, expect and look for fome food for yourself. O it is fweet preaching, when we are feafting ourselves upon thofe very truths we are holding up to others! I will give you four themes to preach upon : firft, In the fludy, to yourself; fecondly, In the pulpit, to the congregation. 1. What am I by nature? 2. What am I by grace ? 3. What was I in my first birth? 4. What am I now in my fecond birth -Every clergyman fhould preach these four lectures over and over to himfelf, before he applies for holy orders; and if he does not, and cannot do this, holy orders never can make a good preacher; nor will they make the man holy in either heart, life, or converfation. -I-have read of one of the fathers, "that he thundered in his preaching, and lightened in his life."-May my curate do fo likewife. There are three books which I have found of great use to me in preaching Chrift. 1. Dr. Jennings on preaching Chrift. 2. Richard Baxter's Reformed Paftor-(while reading this, my very flesh has moved on my bones, and my blood thrilled in my veins. No matter if he was not orthodox to the bone: I believe he was fo in heart and foul, as it refpected love and zeal for Chrift and the souis of men.)-3. Dr. Mather's Advice to his Son, refpecting the Miniftry called (The angels preparing to found the trumpets.) You fay you never faw Dr. South's fermons: the following hints are from one of them, upon preaching Christ. Chrift has a fourfold relation to preaching: 1. He is the text; and all preaching befide Christ, is befide the text; therefore, keep to your text. 2. Chrift is the very foundation and fubject-matter of preaching; and all preaching without Chrift, is building caftles in the air. 3. Chrift is the life and foul of preaching; and all preaching without him, is like a body without life and spi rit. 4. Chrift is the great end of preaching; preaching is to manifeft his glory; and when Chrift is not preached, the great end is loit. Let the following confiderations induce you with your whole heart, foul, and body, to preach Chrift faithfully:1. Your own declaration and vows laft Sunday at the altar, when you received holy orders in the folema prefence of God and man. 2. The worth of every one of thofe fouls to whom you preach: look on them; every one of them will witness for or against you in the great day. 3. View the awful itate of fallen man; your Master pitied them, paid their debts, has provided mercy and pardon for them, and has fent you to declare it, to perfuade them to receive it, and give in your own evidence to the truth of Do it, Sir; do it faithfully. it. 4. Behold the languid ftate of religion! Strive to revive begin with yourfeif. it: 5. Your thining as a bright star in glory, having, through grace, been inftrumental in turning many from fin to rightCoufnefs. |